Podcast Summary

Podcast: AdTechGod Pod
Host: AdTechGod (The AdTech God)
Episode: 98: From Standards to Streaming: Hillary Slattery on Programmatic, Curation & AI
Date: September 23, 2025
Guest: Hillary Slattery, Senior Director, Product Management at IAB Tech Lab

Overview

This episode dives into the evolving landscape of advertising technology with Hillary Slattery from the IAB Tech Lab. The conversation covers Hillary’s career journey, the distinction between IAB and IAB Tech Lab, the push for standards in programmatic CTV (connected TV), live event advertising, the complexities of transparency and curation, and the Lab’s new efforts around publisher protection in the age of AI.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Hillary’s Journey into AdTech

• Background & Career Path
  • Started in a startup doing early in-banner video (2012)
  • Progressed through adopter, sales, and then product management roles at Scripps, Wide Orbit, Triad (retail media at GroupM/WPP), and Epsilon.
  • Recruited by IAB Tech Lab to steward the OpenRTB specification.
• Notable Quote
  • “TechLab calls you and says, hey, do you want to be the steward of the OpenRTB spec? I’m like, well, obviously, yes. That’s incredible.” (03:25–03:40)

IAB vs. IAB Tech Lab

• Core Distinction
  • IAB (the “mothership”): Focuses on policy, market research, addressing the needs of senior sales staff.
  • IAB Tech Lab: Develops and maintains open technical standards and specs, working closely with engineers and product teams.
• Quote
  • “IAB are market or regional level and they do policy research… Tech Lab is product engineering and we lay the open source technical specifications.” (04:40–05:08)

Industry Convergence & The Challenge of Programmatic CTV

• CTV Programmatic Growth
  • Big streamers and SSAI vendors are engaging more with Tech Lab to use programmatic “pipes”—but with new challenges.
  • The Lab works to ensure standards (like OpenRTB) can adapt to real-time needs, especially for live events (LEAP initiative).
• Notable Phrase
  • "The biggest theme around conversion is programmatic-ing in CTV. That is my technical term. We’re going to make it a thing." (05:48–05:59)
• OMSDK & Live Event Ad Playbook (LEAP)
  • OMSDK: Standardizes verification in CTV.
  • LEAP: Developing APIs to better support live event ad serving.
  • "We’re very into the funny acronyms and that is all completely focused on APIs… to help inform what happens in real time." (06:54–07:10)

Transparency, Data Sharing & "Ad Tech Spaghetti"

• Buyer-Seller Tensions
  • Buyers want more show-level or app-level transparency.
  • Sellers may hold back data (e.g., show titles, bundle IDs) for legitimate legal and business reasons.
  • Deals with extra transparency command higher costs, often managed through deal IDs.
• Quote
  • “It is the publisher's God given right to package their inventory however they see fit. And capitalism, baby. If the buyers don't want to buy it, then don't buy it. Like it seems very straightforward to me.” (09:30–10:03)
• Bid Duplication: 'Ad Tech Spaghetti'
  • Lack of supply clarity leads to multiple parties selling the same inventory, causing duplication and complexity.
  • “It just becomes what I call ad tech spaghetti.” (12:30–12:50)

Curation: Hype or Real Value?

• Standardizing Curation
  • Many in the industry are excited about curation, though Hilary remains neutral on its value.
  • Tech Lab is working on a “deal API” to standardize and make the curation process more transparent, especially by at least naming the curator.
  • “What I also really want to do though, is have some level of transparency into, if nothing else, at the very least, naming who the curator of the package was. That alone will go a long way. I genuinely believe sunlight is the best disinfectant.” (14:30–15:03)
• Risk Warning
  • “Anytime you buy against a digital ID that doesn’t have an S chain associated with it—danger, Will Robinson. It is not the way. That is not the droid we’re looking for.” (16:15–16:43)

AI's Impact on AdTech & Publisher Protection

• AI Bubble Debate
  • Both host and guest reject the notion that AI is a passing hype. They see it as similarly critical as office staples like Microsoft Word or Excel.
• Tech Lab’s New "COMP" Working Group
  • AI Content Monetization Working Group (COMP): Aims to help publishers prevent AI models from crawling site content without compensation and to define monetization methods.
  • “We just announced actually this week our initiative called COMP. So it's AI Content Monetization Working Group, or COMP. Again, one of those pithy names…” (17:44–18:15)
• Goal & Approach
  • Possible strategies include bot blocking, improved content discoverability controls, and creating new monetization and attribution channels for content used in AI model training.
  • “Start by closing the door and locking it, then sort of cracking it open little by little, making sure everybody gets paid for it. And then, and only then, we can have the attribution discussion.” (19:28–20:45)
• Reality Check
  • Hilary doubts large AI companies will participate, but would welcome their involvement.
  • “I would eat my shoe if the AI companies actually showed up in that room. But I would be so incredibly impressed if they were willing to meaningfully engage in this conversation with publishers.” (21:29–21:42)

Motivation & Representation in AdTech

• What Keeps Hillary Motivated?
  • The importance of female technical leadership and diversity.
  • The constant intellectual engagement and the industry’s dynamism and passion.
  • “I love what I do … I think it’s really important to have a female technical lead in such a highly visible role… The conversations are always interesting, even the ones that aren’t in good faith.” (22:32–23:11)

Memorable Quotes

• “IAB does policy; Tech Lab does product. Policy and prose versus code and specs.” — Hillary Slattery (04:50–05:08)
• “I really view my role in a lot of this as like everybody calm down. I know everyone’s having big feelings. It’s going to be fine.” — Hillary (08:40–08:56)
• “If the buyers don't want to buy it, then don't buy it. Like it seems very straightforward to me.” — Hillary (10:02–10:14)
• “Sunlight is the best disinfectant.” — Hillary (15:02–15:07)
• “Anytime you buy against a digital ID that doesn’t have an S chain associated with it—danger, Will Robinson.” — Hillary (16:28–16:43)
• “I would eat my shoe if the AI companies actually showed up in that room.” — Hillary (21:29–21:34)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [02:02–03:55] – Hillary’s career journey and how she got to IAB Tech Lab
• [04:40–05:08] – Distinguishing IAB from IAB Tech Lab
• [05:27–07:21] – CTV, programmatic, and live event ad standards
• [08:21–10:03] – Transparency challenges and the “God-given right” of publishers
• [11:29–13:31] – Technical causes of bid duplication and "ad tech spaghetti"
• [13:59–15:40] – Curation: standards, transparency, and industry hype
• [16:49–17:44] – AI's industry impact and the COMP initiative
• [19:28–21:29] – COMP: what it hopes to achieve for publishers vs. AI companies
• [22:32–23:11] – Hillary’s motivation and the importance of representation

Summary

This episode provides a candid, inside look at the evolving technical landscape of adtech, the forces and personalities shaping its standards, and the new frontiers of CTV, curation, and AI. Hillary offers grounded insights, practical skepticism, and a healthy sense of humor about the complexity and passions within the industry, while championing both publisher rights and diversity in technical leadership. The IAB Tech Lab, under her guidance, continues to mediate, standardize, and innovate amid ever-shifting industry demands.